Computing scale



Feb. 10, 1925. 1,525,672

E. A. STEPHENS COMPUTING SCALE 2 @WM/.WMM ffmfmum Feb. l0, 1925.

2 Sheets-Sheet Iii) Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATI-:s

ERNEST A. STEPHENS, OF ELKHART, INDIANA.

COMPUTING SCALE.

Application filed February 13, 1922.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ERNEST A. STEPHENS, of the city of Elkhart, count-y of Elkhart, Indiana, and a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Computing Scales, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in computing scales.

An object of the invention is to enlarge the capacity of the indicating device on computing scales by combining with the ordinary indicating chart a supplementary chart or member having indicating elements arranged in suitable local relation to the indicating elements of the ordinary Comput` ing chart and in suitable quantitative relation to the indications of the computing chart.

Another object of the invention is to combine with the chart of computing scales a manually operable indicating device which is manually adjustable to positions in which its indicatingelements of ydilerent groups can be brought into suitable relation with the indicating elements of the chart so as to render variable the enlargement of the ordinary computing chart on scales of this character. y Y

It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide in combination with a movable computing chart for scales of this kind, means for yieldingly retaining the chart in a suitable position so as to avoid displacement after the adjustment of the chart has been effected.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device of this kind which can readily be attached to ordinary computing scales Without requiring a change in the weighing mechanism or in the indicator mechanism proper, and which attachment can be effected without necessitating a disassembly of the scale mechanism or a rearrangement of important parts of the same.

The invention has numerous other objects which will become more apparent from a perusal of the following specification, in which a preferred embodiment of thev invention is described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims appended to the specification, in which refe-rence is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a computing scale with the improved indicator device ating, and includes a substantially Serial No. 536,142.

tached thereto, certain parts being shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a. central vertical section, and partly elevation through the carrier for the supplementary chart 5 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4i is a horizontal detail section on 4 4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of the indicating data on the supplementary chart.

The computing scale, indicated as-a whole at l, is shown by way of example only as comprising the weighing platform, and the weighing mcch anism is also indicated as a whole at 2. This weighing mechanism includes the steelyard or beam 3, on which a poise 4 is slidably mounted; the beam being supported in a known way by knife-edge fulcrums and being provided at one end with an attachment 5 for the suspension of removable counterweights through which the capacit-y of the scale may be enlarged in a known way.

The indicating device of the scale is supported by an extension 6 on the scale housfan-shaped chart 7 over which an indicator or pointer 8 plays, the position of the pointer being dependent upon the load which rests on the platform.

The chart 7 comprises an arcuate top row of weight indicating elements 9, showing units and fractions of units. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawing (Fig. l) the capacity of the indicating device. is limited to ten pounds. In addition to these weight indications 9 which are arranged in the top row of the indicating chart, the latter also displays a. relatively large number of similar concentric arcuate rows l0. These arcuate rows l0 of indications contain the indications of total prices ot' commodities, and the indications themselves are arranged in groups l1 radially disposed with respect to the arcs l0. A few of the indications only are entered by way of eX- ample in the drawings. The values of these indications increase from the lowermost row lO upwardly in accordance with unit price indications l2, which are applied tc the pointer. If, for instance, the pointer indicates (in the top row 9) a weight of a coinmodity of seven pounds and if the unit price per pound (indication 12 on the ordinary casing with a llO pointer) is ,thirty-hve? ce-nt's,' the total1v price' 245 "of the weighed commodity is indicated by that igure in one of the rows" lwhichY is adjacent to the unit price 35 i in the ref- 5 spective position of the pointer. The latter may carry a wire 14 to facilitate the reading of the indications on the chart.

It commodities' oit-"a weightexceeding 10' y'15 total"price of the commodityof this aug inented weight, however, would notbe ascertainable from the' 'indicatingchart l itself."

The supplementaryindicating device coinprise's'a' chart 2O withindications arranged j inhorizontal rows 21 which can "be placed in circumferential alignment witlrthe arcuate ro'ws 10 of the indicatingchart; the

` indicator; in the'chart Q0 arethe-values" otv Vfixedtmultiplesoi`^units, arranged in; a way A* ".25Lsimilar to that""whichisv Eprovided'on the Y inent the operator will turn the knob unt-il that vertical group lofy values-below i main chafrt`7`andfon the'pointer 8. "f Figa' illustrates aysupplementarychart ot'thisi char-a cter: in which j the second ifr'ow 22 from the topi' shows the multiples of thel B0' Eweightunits, while thevalues of the'v total*l l l V'2W-isf blank, the chartr being adjusted to render this blank column visible -toy the oper- Vatojrwhen the articleto be weighed does not Y f exceed theweightfotjlO pounds.

pricesof these weight multiples tti'r'dierent unit'l prices are arranged' in vertical groups in1 alignment with the@` respective \weight`v multiples.

35i ySo, "for instance'.j the verticalgroup of 1 valuesl indicated 'runder tliei weight Imultiple of30 piuidsgivesthe'price AKof 30- ptounds of commodities,v the unit'pricefs of which are 'zinfthetsame relation'toleach other as the lo unitprice indicationson thefpointe'r. .Itg'f therefore,- in a weighing operation, for "in- V` I Y j stance, uponY placing an additional j. weight 4 of 30 poundson the attachment the pointer* "should stop in 'alignment' with the'weight V indication 5,"sho'wing that 135pouncl'ss the y lc'oir'rect'jvtfeight of the loadion the'jplatforinj of the scaileythe priceindicationr Ion the chart ITwould be :seventy-.five cents at a unit price:

of 15 for the commodity. Gn the *comput ing'chart QOIthelvalue @5W-"would appear in the vertical group below the weight 1nul`v `i tiple 30 and in circumferential lalignment with that lrowl10 o-t chart 7 Iwhich-is under# l' Alneat-h the uniti-price niark 15 v'of the point-er.v The prlceindlcationfof' 75 'on thechart 7 would then' have' t'ov be addedfto the price indication 456)fon the. supple mentary chart QO'fther'e'by? facilitating the "computation of the prices in accordance with the increased lcapa-city'of thescale. f

To facilitate the exact reading ofthe supi plementary chart 20, the latter Vissujgported on a carrier 30 which is inovablyf-afrranged withjrespectzto the chart? so as to display v upon its adjustment Ionly that portion of the ber on uthe surface of which the supplementary chart is secured. ThisV cylindrical carrier is supported in the casing. extension means of a bracket 31 near thecupper end "of the' extension 6.

A. vsimilar bracket 32 isfatt-ached to Athe extension at the" lower endl--V The closing caps A3310i tl1e"c.ylinder fare" provided within-)rial posts' or rods 34 j which are rotatably mounted 'in the brackets "31, 32.* "A knu'rledbutton `35secured -to the upper rod, facilitates the rotary adjustment ot' 'the"carrie`r.` This carrier' is arranged with respectfto the display opening 16 in the extensiony of thev scale so as V`v to present 'one'I vertical group only 'of its' val-uesto the 'l operator.

It; therefore, for instance 'ai' supplementary. weight otlOj is placedfon theattach Asecond -ht` riZonta l row'38 also indicating -weight n'iultiples," ot similar Value as Ain row' 22, but arranged ina dierent sequence, will upon rotation oiV tl'iefc'ariier 30 project theisanie wifeightv multipleI toward thecustomer or purclias`er, fwhich in `row 22 istdiplayed towards fthe operator; to indicateto th'e'p'uichaser 'thatthesupplementary Vchart has beenad'jujsted to they proper position withfrespectto the Eweight on'f'lthefattachment.

The invention also; comprises theV arrangef mentv of "a yielding locking"device to prevent accidental displacement VofV the chart and itsA carrier from adjusted position. The upper axial rod is'provided with `a"=ratchet or gearSQ` having rounded teeth. In cooperation with thislratche't7 -a spring pawl 40 Aissecured tot-he casingofthe scale adapt'- ed to engage the ratchet andl yieldingly hold thesanie andthereby also the Ysupplementarychart inadjusted position until the op- *erator turns the Jknob, overcoming thereby *the resistance ot"- the `'spring dog 4:0. Any

other suitable arrangement may be vselected forretainingthe parts in adjusted position. In 'the operation of the scalethe' operator places th'earticle ontheplatform and iinds either `through testing-whether the weightexceeds a-certain-f multiple of tens Aot-p'ounds;'orlhe may add uthe weights in '.chartlwhich' corresponds tothe increase of 'the' weight Acapacityof the scaled The carrier 30 is constructed as ya cylindrical memaccordance with his experience. After he increases for instance the weighing capacity of the scale by 40 pounds he turns the cylindrical carrier of the supplementary chart until the group of values below 40 is projected towards him. At the same time the value of 40 in the second row 38 will be turned towards the purchaser on the opposite side. If then the pointer should be arrested by the weight indication of the permanent chart this will mean that the weight of the article on the platform is 45 pounds. If the unit price of the article is six cents the operator will read the value 30 which appears adjacent the unit price 6 of the pointer and to this he will add the value 240 of the supplementary chart in that row which is in circumferential alignment with the row underneath the unit price 6 of the pointer. In this way the computation of a very large number of multiples is readily ascertained on the scale and mistakes are avoided.`

I claim:

l. A computing scale including a chart with total price graduations arranged in rows across it, a weight operated pointer the addition of a weight of,

having price per unit graduations on it to cooperate with the graduations on the chart, and a second chart having rows of total price graduations in multiples of those on the first mentioned chart, and brackets to support the second chart in a rotatable position parallel to the pointer when in its Zero position, said brackets also su porting the second chart in a position w ere the figures on the second chart will be in line with either corresponding rows of figures on the rst chart.

2. In a computing scale, having a computing chart with total price indications arranged in rows, the values of said tot-al price indications increasing from one end of the chart through the different rows to the other end of the chart, and a supplementary chart having multiple weiUht indications and total price indications For different unit prices in alinement with said multiple weight indications.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature this 10th day of February, 1922.

ERNEST A. STEPHENS. 

